Performance Intelligence

You know that quiet thought you have sometimes: I’m capable of more than this. Not more ideas. Not more knowledge. Just… more execution.That gap between what you know you could do and what you actually do? That’s where most people live. And it’s costing you energy, confidence, results.Craig Harper has spent decades watching high performers wrestle with this exact tension. The ones who move forward aren’t the most talented - they’re the ones willing to do what others avoid: discomfort, repetition, honest self-reflection.This is a reset on how you think about effort, potential, and what it really takes to perform - consistently, not occasionally.If you’re tired of hovering at 60–70% in your work, your health, or your life, this will challenge you in the best way. Because transformation doesn’t live in what you know. It lives in what you’re willing to do.In this episode Andrew and Harps talk about:1:30 Why Craig is fascinated by the topic of the performance capacity gap and  Criag’s life path from being a teenager to where he is now.12:05 Embracing your fear to overcome your limits and recognising your own self awareness to become your best self.22:30 Craig’s tips to building a better you inside and out and why you can’t just play with theory all your life.32:00 Understanding your own mind may be the biggest challenge you can face and as Socrates says “the beginning of wisdom is to know thyself”.42:00 Why Craig feels better in many aspects of his life now than when he was in his 30s and having a lack of confidence in yourself can be crippling.51:00 What do you say to yourself when you wake up everyday and why Craig doesn’t want everything in his life to be a 10/10.You can find Craig at his website:https://craigharper.net/At his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/craiganthonyharper/Listen to The You Project:https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-you-project/id1342430567 Use Code "PQPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/ Interested in sharing your story? Email Producer Shannon at support@performanceintelligence.com today with your story and contact details. Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/Watch the Performance Intelligence Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcastIf you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

Aaron Walsh, a mental skills coach and performance strategist who embeds culture and mental skills programs with elite teams. He explains why starting with alignment and honest conversations with the head coach matters. Short takes cover defining success across years, testing commitment to mental skills, and moving from reactive support to embedded, strategic collaboration.

Ali Piotrowski, an experienced Channel 9 journalist known for coolness during breaking global stories. She discusses staying composed under pressure, quick recovery from on-air mistakes, and using rituals and simple prompts to convert adrenaline into clarity. Short practices, tone shifts between stories, and post-shift downregulation also come up.

Ali Day, champion Ironman and pro surf lifesaver, credits relentless daily routines and wearable tech for staying elite. He talks early-morning starts, a 10–15 minute mobility ritual, and juggling family with sleep strategies. He outlines a 16-session week, high-intensity blocks, and tools like Whoop/Oura to track recovery.

A live keynote on why most people mismanage energy and how simple routines fix it. Covers morning circadian resets, cold and heat exposure, and pacing your day with pulsing stress and recovery. Explores longevity tips from Blue Zones and practical 30-second downregulation tools like humming and the physiological sigh. Ends with doable commitments to protect long-term performance.

Dan Abrahams, a sports psychologist and author known for simple, practical mental skills, outlines three daily pillars: attention, intensity, and intent. He explains what each pillar means and how to prepare them with mental contrasting and if–then rehearsal. The conversation shows how athlete-tested tools translate to high-pressure work and everyday performance.

You snack all day. A quick scroll between meetings. Emails between tasks. A podcast in the car. Life now happens in fragments - small moments squeezed between everything else. Yet when it comes to fitness, most people still believe it requires a full hour, a gym, and a perfectly clear schedule.What if that idea is wrong?After more than 50 years in the fitness industry, Dr Paul Batman began to question the model he had spent decades teaching. The result was a powerful shift in thinking: health doesn’t need more time...it needs better use of the moments we already have.The concept is simple: fitness snacks. For busy professionals wanting to perform well now and age well later, this might completely change how you think about exercise.1:55 Training for mountain treks by vacuuming and the moment Dr Paul questioned decades of fitness advice.6:45 Why countries with more gyms often have more inactive people.16:30 The new science of movement tracking and why staying active protects body and mind as you age.25:30 Over 55 and inactive? The hidden health risk most people don’t realise.32:00 Simple ways to move more each day and what METs actually mean for your health.37:30 The surprising link between movement, dementia prevention, and everyday activities like shopping.45:30 Why moving with others might be the secret to staying active for life.You can find Dr Paul at his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-paul-batman-9092a052/ Use Code "PQPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/ Interested in sharing your story? Email Producer Shannon at support@performanceintelligence.com today with your story and contact details. Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/Watch the Performance Intelligence Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcastIf you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

Why staying 'on' all day harms decision-making and recovery. The idea that energy comes in 90–100 minute pulses, not steady beams. Sporting rituals that use short resets to boost performance. A simple 30-second breathing method to lower heart rate fast. Four quick awareness checks to help shift from stress to calm.

A leadership team with top-tier talent, strong strategy, and capital behind it still misses targets. Engagement scores drift. Execution stalls. On paper, nothing is wrong. In reality, the environment is misaligned.That gap between capability and consistent performance is where culture either compounds results or quietly erodes them.Aaron Walsh, Head of Culture, Leadership and Mental Performance at the Rajasthan Royals and former Mental Skills coach with the Chiefs, has spent his career working inside high performance systems where results are unforgiving and scrutiny is constant.Why is culture still treated as a “soft” variable despite overwhelming evidence that it shapes behaviour, decision-making and performance under pressure?1:45 – Defining culture and what happens when reality doesn’t match the wall. 9:05 – Aaron’s work with the Chiefs and Mike Cron on building a successful culture. 15:45 – Connecting teams to the community and the last 10% performance gains from culture. 19:55 – Michael Gervais, the Seattle Seahawks, and bringing team culture to corporates like IAG. 27:55 – Immediate actions to improve culture and fostering psychological safety for innovation. 33:10 – Leadership, culture, and why your energy impacts corporate performance. 36:50 – Andrew’s morning routine and the quality vs quantity time debate. 41:05 – Measuring culture beyond annual check-ins and its impact. 47:15 – Modelling desired behaviours and Aaron’s 5-year vision. 54:35 – When systems fail, talent isn’t enough and why some teams may not need a mental skills coach. 59:55 – Spotting cultural clues on day one and lessons from sports to corporate mental skills.Listen to the previous episode with Aaron here: https://performanceintelligence.transistor.fm/episodes/143-aaron-walsh Use Code "PQPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/ Interested in sharing your story? Email Producer Shannon at support@performanceintelligence.com today with your story and contact details. Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/Watch the Performance Intelligence Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcastIf you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

Most people want the title of CEO but very few want the weight that comes with it. When you’re at the head of Australia’s largest bank, Commbank, there’s no hiding. No delegation of ultimate responsibility. Sometimes that means sitting alone at night reading a 600-page document because if your name is on it...you own it.In this Bite Size, Matt Comyn shares what leadership actually feels like at that level. The pressure. The self-doubt. The constant balancing act when expectations — external and internal — start to tip. And the mental discipline he uses to steady himself before small cracks become big ones.If you lead a team, carry responsibility, or aspire to — this is a rare look at what it really demands. Use Code "PQPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/ Interested in sharing your story? Email Producer Shannon at support@performanceintelligence.com today with your story and contact details. Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/Watch the Performance Intelligence Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcastIf you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.